Nature's Variety offers many nutritious choices for your dog or cat, including our Raw Frozen Diets, grain-free Instinct kibble and cans, and our wholesome Prairie kibble and cans. Any or all of these nutritious diets may be right for your special pet, but a few initial considerations may be helpful...

Are you trying to address any food allergies?
If grains are an issue for your pet, you may want to consider our Raw Frozen and Instinct diets, which are high in animal-sourced protein and are naturally grain-free. Grain-free diets often prove helpful in improving skin and coat issues as well.

Does your pet enjoy a particular protein?
Nature's Variety offers a wide array of choices for your pet to enjoy, including chicken, lamb, duck, beef, rabbit, salmon, and venison. Variety – also known as rotation – not only helps your pet enjoy their food, but also can help prevent overexposure to ingredients and be helpful in preventing allergies.

Are you looking for a wholesome, well-rounded diet that promotes easy and appetizing variety?
If so, you could consider our Prairie foods. Prairie is rich in meat, poultry and fish with whole grains, fruits, and vegetables – and we offer a complete line of kibble and can formulas for your pet to enjoy.

Whichever Nature's Variety food you choose for your pet, you can feel confident they are getting the best nutrition nature has to offer. We encourage you to work closely with your veterinarian to determine which foods may be right for your special animal companion.

It is always a good idea to start out slowly on a new diet with any pet. Slowly increase the amount of new food being added to the present diet over a period of 3-4 weeks. If any digestive upset or loose stool occurs, make the transition more gradual. It is a good idea to allow your pet's digestive system to calm down and return to normal before proceeding. There is no need to rush this transition.

(Once your pet is accustomed to Nature's Variety foods, you can rotate freely between forms and flavors.  All Nature's Variety diets are specially formulated for rotation feeding – learn more about the Nature's Variety Rotation Diet.)

It is important to work closely with your veterinarian to determine if your pet's reaction is food-related or not. If it is food-related, it can be a true allergy (immune response) or simply intolerance. Either case requires careful identification of the irritant and special attention to ingredient quality and pet food labels.

Common food irritants can include chicken, beef, eggs, wheat, and corn. Typically, irritants are proteins (animal or plant), and not fats. As a result, if your pet is allergic to chicken protein, it will likely not be allergic to chicken fat. Products that are chicken-free (no chicken, chicken organs, or chicken eggs) but include chicken fat should be safe to feed.

Allergies or intolerances may develop from repeated exposure – in other words, by not varying or rotating protein species. We recommend rotating not only flavors, but also styles of food (raw, kibble, can) to help prevent allergies, intolerances, and picky eaters.  Learn more about the Nature's Variety Rotation Diet.

Itching, foot biting, nose or eye discharge, and hot spots, are common signs of allergies. However, allergies can be environmental or food related. It is important that you work closely with your veterinarian to determine if your pet's reaction is food-related or not. If it is food-related, it can be a true allergy (immune response) or simply intolerance. Either case requires careful identification of the irritant and special attention to ingredient quality and pet food labels.

Common food irritants can include chicken, beef, eggs, wheat, and corn. Typically, irritants are proteins (animal or plant), and not fats. As a result, if your pet is allergic to chicken protein, it will not be allergic to chicken fat. Products that are chicken-free (no chicken, chicken organs, or chicken eggs) but include chicken fat should be safe to feed.

Allergies or intolerances may develop from repeated exposure – in other words, by not varying or rotating protein species. We recommend rotating not only flavors, but also styles of food (raw, kibble, can) to help prevent allergies, intolerances, and picky eaters.  Learn more about the Nature's Variety Rotation Diet.

Many pet owners have found that a highly digestible, grain-free diet reduces stool volume for their dogs and cats. Nature's Variety Raw Frozen Diets and our Instinct kibble and canned formulas provide superior nutrition without fillers and may decrease backyard and litter box cleanup.

Pets are finicky about different things – for some it is the flavor, for others it may be texture or odor. Experimenting with your pet's diet may help to identify their likes and dislikes. Try to find an animal protein your dog or cat enjoys. We often hear from our customers that our Instinct Rabbit and Duck canned formulas are particularly palatable, as is our Prairie Chicken kibble and chicken raw diets.

We understand that pets have likes and dislikes when it comes to what they eat every day – we offer free kibble samples at your local retailer as well as A Taste of Raw, a small portion of our raw diets nicely priced at $4.99. Our foods always come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, so you can feel confident trying our foods for your special dog or cat. Remember to always transition slowly when changing your pet's diet.

Every day we hear amazing stories from our customers about the results their pets have enjoyed on our natural and nourishing diets. You may find pets with similar situations in our Family Scrapbook – we encourage you to see what worked for them.

Puppies and kittens are very active and spend a lot of energy playing, exploring, and growing - and they need to be fed appropriately. Each of our wholesome diets has feeding guidelines for puppies and kittens; you may also visit our Feeding Guide for more information. Each puppy and kitten is different, so it is important to work with your veterinarian to insure your new little family member gets just the right nutrition.

The needs of a large breed puppy are no different from a small breed puppy. All puppies need high quality protein, low carbohydrate, balanced calcium to phosphorus (CA:P), bioavailable vitamins and minerals, and beneficial omega fatty acids like DHA (found in fish and fish oil). What does vary with large breeds is the growth rate and how the growth is managed through diet and lifestyle. We recommend working closely with your veterinarian to develop a healthy plan for your large breed puppy's feeding and exercise regimen. We also recommend varying the flavor and format of food fed to puppies – it will help to prevent boredom and possibly prevent food intolerances from developing.

When dogs and cats are pregnant they need to consume much more food than they traditionally would eat. Each dog and cat is different, so it is important to work with your veterinarian to insure your pet does not become too heavy or too thin. As a general rule, pregnant dogs and cats eat approximately 50% more food than when not pregnant. Please work with your veterinarian to develop the proper feeding regimen for your pregnant/lactating pet. Also, visit the Feeding Guide for helpful feeding information.

Every Nature's Variety diet is complete and balanced for all life stages, from energetic puppies and kittens to adult and senior dogs and cats. Our nutritious foods are rich in meat, poultry, and fish to nourish muscles and build strong bones. Beneficial fruits and vegetables are included to provide important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Our wholesome foods will properly nourish your dog no matter what his age, so there's no need for a life stage – or senior – diet.

The cost to feed raw depends upon the needs of your special dog or cat. Each pet is different, and their nutritional requirements will vary depending upon their age, size, and activity level. For estimating purposes only, a 50 lb dog with moderate activity will eat approximately $2.40 a day if fed 100% raw (assuming they eat 1.25 patties, Chicken Formula, at average retail cost). We recommend rotating among Nature's Variety foods, feeding dogs and cats different formats (kibble, can, raw) and different varieties (venison, chicken, lamb, salmon). Your pet will enjoy and benefit from the variety, and you can choose the nutritious foods that best fit your budget and lifestyle.